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NEARLY three million Filipinos were jobless as of April 2008, while
the number of the underemployed was estimated at 6.6 million or 19.8
percent of the total employed. These numbers suggest a weakening
economy, the failure of the economic sectors to produce jobs and the
inability of the education system to produce the skills needed by a
competitive economy.
The numbers from the latest Labor Force Survey
of the National Statistics Office say that the number of the
unemployed at the end of the first quarter was 2.9 million, higher
by 200,000, over the 2.7 million recorded for the same period last
year. The joblessness rate in the first four months was 8 percent
from 7.4 percent in 2007.
About 40 percent of the unemployed were college
level, 45.3 percent high school level and 14 percent grade-school
level. More males were unemployed, 62.5 percent, than females, 37.5
percent. The total employed is 33.5 million, almost half in the
services sector. A piece of good news is that more than one-third of
the total employed were own-account workers, with self-employed
persons registering the highest share, 30.1 percent.
The numbers failed to indicate how overseas
employment has affected joblessness, how the problem could have
worsened without Filipinos working overseas.
What happened? The economy, as measured by GDP,
grew 5.2 percent from January to March, compared with 7.5 percent
during the same period last year.
The new press secretary, Jesus Dureza, said the
April data are higher because about 2.9 million new college
graduates have joined the labor force without finding jobs.
The survey points to the efficacy of small
businesses as a strategic alternative to 9-to-5 blue-and
white-collar jobs.
The high number of the underemployed underscores
again income disparities and the possibility that the jobless and
underpaid employed are competing for the same number of openings.
At a time of subsidy binges and monetary
giveaways, no one—not at the presidential palace or Congress—is
talking about unemployment insurance.
Is an insurance plan for jobless Filipinos a
foolish idea, a pipe dream or a waste of money? Yes, perhaps, to all
these questions. But if the government could spend billions for
every economic class, we could at least raise the idea and start a
debate.
What substitutes for unemployment insurance is
the extended Filipino family system. The overstretched family
provides the safety net for every son, cousin, uncle and nephew who
loses a job or could not find one.
The breadwinner and his family usually accept a
kin who is down on his luck. It’s an enduring tradition. The
jobless gets to share in the meals, sleeping space and even jueteng
winnings. Of course the economic pie gets smaller in the process,
one reason why poverty persists.
Wonder no more why Filipino families are big,
why interlocking circles of tightly knit families thrive or why
parents prefer to have two dozen godparents for their offspring’s
christening.
Fund has a new script
SOMETIME in the early 1970s, Mayor Joseph
Estrada of San Juan and actors Dolphy and Fernando Poe Jr.—in the
course of a casual breakfast—discovered that each was personally
and consistently helping jobless actors, sick comrades and children
of friends who desperately wanted, but had no means, to go to
school. This was the heyday of the Marcos KBL (Kilusan ng Bagong
Lipunan) ruling party, but for the three actors, KBL had come to
mean “kasal, binyag at libing [weddings, christenings and
burials].”
The breakfast inspired the trio to get together
with other industry leaders to make permanent a program of helping
and caring for fellow actors. The industry, a glamorous one, has its
share then and now of heartaches and upsets. Unemployment is high
for “extras,” character actors, writers and production crew. We
remember the Star Café on Claro M. Recto, close to Avenida Rizal,
being the hangout of the unemployed where they came for networking,
make inquiries about job openings or simply swapped sad stories.
The Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund)
is currently helping 4,500 members meet healthcare needs. It trains
members in computer literacy, food processing and reflexology. In
March Mowelfund launched its affordable housing program in San Mateo
in partnership with Gawad Kalinga.
The Museo ng Pelikula houses priceless industry
memorabilia and the directorial “appurtenances” of six National
Artists for Film. With an eye towards film preservation, the
foundation seeks more money to protect the national legacy in
filmmaking.
The Mowelfund Film Institute, the education arm
of the nonprofit group, has trained and produced outstanding
graduates, most of them bywords in mainstream and independent
cinema. Its Sine Biyahe (Mobile Cinema) program in film education,
reaches out to students and other young people. Courses include
directing, cinematography, acting and editing. It offers an 18-day
filmmaking course in partnership with the Film Development Academy
of the Philippines.
The Mowelfund board with Chairman Espiridion
Laxa, National Artist Eddie Romero, composer Josefino Cenizal,
producer Marichu Vera-Perez Maceda, director Boy Vinarao and
executive director Boots Anson Roa thanks its angels and wishes the
list of benefactors would expand. It needs funds for its
wide-ranging projects, particularly the museum for film archiving
and preservation, a repository for outstanding Filipino movies that
are a great part of our history.
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